Giuseppe Verdi didn’t actually want to write a requiem mass, after all there were “many, many, many”. In the years 1873 and 1874 he composed his “Messa da Requiem” and gave the people a masterpiece. On Thursday evening, the Bruckner Orchestra under Markus Poschner, the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno (Petr Fiala), the Choir Ad Libitum (Heinz Ferlesch) and the soloists Susanne Bernhard, Olga Syniakova, Alexey Dolgov and Tareq Nazmi passed this master’s examination in a thrilling manner.
plea against war
In a short speech, chief conductor Markus Poschner referred to the war in Ukraine: “Music cannot stop the war. But it is a plea for humanity, freedom and mutual respect.” This message from around 180 participants reached the full Brucknerhaus. In the tenderly presented intro you could still hear a pin drop. The discrepancy to the stormy and stirring “Dies irae” could not have been greater.
In the “Tuba mirum” the strong wind instruments in the Brucknerhaus play to each other, the two choirs then, as in the further course of the concert, irritate every potential pitfall to the limit without ever running the risk of stumbling.
The four soloists radiate strength, sensitivity and presence. German soprano Susanne Bernhard was practically one with her task, Tarek Nazmi’s bass thundered across the house, and mezzo-soprano Olga Syniakova – who is making a guest appearance at the “Pique Dame” at La Scala in Milan this weekend – brought her clear, strong voice into the audience Spell. Only tenor Alexey Dolgov fell a little comparatively. Markus Poschner has once again prepared his orchestra wonderfully for the task, the mutual appreciation is no longer new, but always worth mentioning. Orchestras and choirs also harmonize brilliantly.
After almost two hours, the last note of the sensational “Libera me” (“Free me”) fades away. After moments of silence, applause breaks out, the audience applauds standing. But there is also one person on stage who is incredibly sad right now: the mezzo-soprano Olga Syniakova needs to be comforted. She is Ukrainian. (at)
- Verdi’s Requiem: Bruckner Orchestra conducted by Markus Poschner, Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, Ad libitum Choir, Susanne Bernhard (soprano), Olga Syniakova (mezzo), Alexey Dolgov (tenor), Tareq Nazmi (bass), Brucknerhaus, March 3
Source: Nachrichten
